God wants to get His foot into everything we do. He wants to keep us from relying just on our own expertise and instincts through prophecy. It keeps the church from just turning thoughtlessly into habit and routine. It keeps us listening for help from the Holy Spirit in our worship, our prayer times. It can direct our minds to repentance. The gift of prophecy takes an eternal principle from Godís Word and cuts it into a current situation where it is in danger of being missed, overlooked or ignored.